The build quality seems way better than it should be at this price point
and, in fact, rivals some helmets costing 3-4 times as much.

It's quiet, it has a nice, solid, clear visor, good air flow and relatively
light weight. The visor has tighter tolerances than many other higher priced
helmets we've seen recently.

Introduction

Here's a screamin' deal for you folks: this Zox Azuma R helmet is DOT
safety standard and the list price is $99.95. And guess what?

The darn thing is actually pretty good. No, scratch that: it's more than
just pretty good. It's nearly great when you factor in the price.

I kind of feel silly saying an 89-dollar helmet is "great".
In fact, I've been scratching my head, thinking there must be a catch somewhere.

Because in this price range, the chances of finding a good or even a
wearable motorcycle helmet is about the same as finding an honest politician,
and you know what the chances of that are...

Zox Helmets?

We first ran into the Zox folks a couple of years ago at the 2005 Powersports
Dealer Expo (see
our report) in Indianapolis. Their helmets looked pretty good and we
had some communications back and forth but we never did get around to ordering
a helmet to try. Meanwhile, a few webBikeWorlders wrote to ask us about
Zox helmets so we figured it was time to get serious.

One of the problems with launching a new helmet line in the U.S.A. --
or anywhere, for that matter -- is trying to cut through the massive amounts
of marketing noise and pique consumer interest.

The other problem is breaking through the huge barriers that form the
antiquated distribution monopolies in the U.S.A. Believe me, there are plenty
of good products out there that you will never see, only because the distribution
czars have decided for us that the products aren't worthy.

Oh, and one more uniquely American problem that faces motorcycle helmet
manufacturers: the cost of insurance. It's huge and the chances of litigation
are high, which means it's going to take some very deep pockets indeed to
get a motorcycle helmet company off the ground.

All this means that finding a Zox helmet retailer is about as easy as
finding a 3/8BS Whitworth bolt in, say, Glasgow.

North Dakota, that is.

No fear: I've done your homework for you tonight and I found this Zox
Azuma R at Classic Cruiser (see table below). I actually ordered two Zox
helmets; the Azuma R shown here in Matte Red and a Zox Nevado Illusion flip-up.
The Azuma R was quickly dispatched, but the Nevado Illusion ... well, that's
another story.

Suffice it to say that one of these days, we're going to start a webBikeWorld
vendor rating page and give Gold Stars to retailers who do everything right.
Believe me, there won't be many.

Gold stars, that is.

We're continually amazed at how many manufacturers, distributors and
retailers are incapable of doing simple things like, say, answering an email.
We've said this before and unfortunately we have to say it again: the Internet
is absolutely, positively, without a doubt the greatest invention that was
ever bestowed on retailers, bar none.

It cuts out the middleman and provides them with a direct communication
link to their customers. Yet it's now 2007, 14 years since I first logged
on and they still don't get it. They just don't get it...

Oh, yeah -- back to the helmet. Last time I looked, this Zox Azuma R
in the matte finish shown here was selling for $89.95 and, get this, with
free shipping! OK, so what does that get you?

Paint and Finish

Zox makes a variety of helmets, most of them with the "R"
designation in the name. What this means, I have no idea. The Azuma R is
available in glossy or matte, graphics or solids. I've taken a liking to
some of the matte "rubbery" feeling surface finishes lately, sometimes
called "Rubatone", a name, I think, that was first coined by Icon.

It's difficult to draw any conclusions from a solid color helmet, especially
if the finish is matte (i.e. "flat"), instead of glossy. But our
Azuma R is about as good as they get, with no flaws, no dust specks imprisoned
in the paint, no runs and no nicks, dimples or craters. We've ranted about
the lack of quality control with some higher-priced helmets, such as the
(KBC Force RR (review) and
others, and this proves the point.

If Zox can do this for 90 bucks, well... some of the other manufacturers
should be embarrassed. Granted, we've only seen one Zox helmet so far, but
we've seen three KBC's, all with problems.

And it's not just the paint on this Zox that does it for us; the vents
are very nicely lined up with small and even gaps, the decals are perfectly
applied and nearly flush with the surface (how did they do that on the matte
finish?) and the liner looks wonderful and feels very nice.

Also, the gasket around the bottom of the helmet is perfectly aligned
and applied (not an easy feat; a perfectly aligned gasket is what separates
the pros from the nimrods) and even the clear visor forms a nearly perfect
seal to the eye port gasket, unlike some very expensive helmets we've seen
lately with sealing problems.

Of course, the price/quality paradox is in play here; that is, a less
expensive helmet with very good quality adds to the Subjectivity of Goodness
factor, while an expensive helmet will always get a much closer eyeball
and even the tiniest flaws will become magnified as problems.

Also, remember we're talking about a 90-dollar helmet here, not a $700
Schurberth S1 (review)
so the law of relativity is at work. Nevertheless, everyone who's seen the
Zox is impressed. Therefore, I'm giving the Zox Azuma R an outstanding rating
for fit and finish (see rating descriptions in table below).

Helmet Fit and Internal Shape

The fit of the Azuma R seems to include a round-ish top but slightly
narrow sides. The liner isn't quite as comfy as, say, the
Arai Quantum II (review), which
is the benchmark for liner comfort, and the Azuma's liner is slightly short
at the bottom, which can put the squeeze square-jawed riders (like Rick).

It's hard to compare helmets with a fit like this, sort of a "light
bulb" internal shape, but I think the narrower sides should accommodate
some not-too-long-oval head shapes in addition to those with rounded craniums.

The helmet shown here is a size XL, but my feeling is that it runs about
1/2 size small, maybe more like a 60-61 cm, rather than the claimed 61-62
for an XL.

The Zox Azuma R is available in sizes XS to XXL and Zox is one of the
very few motorcycle helmet manufacturers who actually lists the shell size
of their helmets. The XS, S and M use their small shell and size L, XL and
XXL use a larger shell size.

For more information on motorcycle helmet internal shapes and selecting
and fitting motorcycle helmets, see the wBW
Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page.

Face Shield

The Azuma's face shield opens and closes with a nice, solid "thunk"
and it actually has 8 separate and distinct detents that can be felt and
used as the face shield is opened.

This is unusual, even on helmets costing two, three and four times more.
Recently, many helmet manufacturers seem to be trending towards offering
only two or three detents to hold their face shields open, so the Zox system
is a definite plus in our book.

The Azuma loses points, however, for the face shield removal system.
It may be just our helmet, but the "easy on/off" face shield isn't.
We discovered that the trick is to not raise the face shield to its
topmost position, like most other helmets, before removing it. Raise it
to the penultimate notch, then pull the lever and eventually, with some
patience, the face shield comes off.

It's not intuitive, not only because of the decremented position of the
face shield, but there are actually three different plastic tabs that have
to be released, making it tricky to remove or replace. It can be done, and
it is easier than some, but be careful, because the clear plastic tabs on
the face shield seem like they would be easy to break. Fortunately, face
shields aren't removed that often.

Other than that, the face shield seems very clear -- noticeably more
clear than most -- and although it doesn't feel as stiff as the best when
it's opened or closed, it's better than some of the flimsy specimens we've
used recently.

One other bonus is that the eye port opening seems slightly larger than
normal, especially in the east-west dimension.

Overall, the face shield gets good marks for function but loses points
for the fussy removal system. I give it a "good" rating but I'd
probably give it an excellent otherwise.

Helmet Liner and Ventilation

The Zox Azuma R liner is relatively comfortable. It seems very well made
and, believe it or not, the stitching is mostly hidden, giving it a sleek
look. The liner is also claimed to be removable, but we almost never do
so.

The padding could maybe be a touch thicker, and as I mentioned above,
the lower part of the cheek pads seems to be a touch short, so it can put
some pressure on the lower jaws of round-headed or square-jawed owners.

The upper part of the liner over the rider's head does not have any vent
holes, but the rest of the top of the liner is an open mesh, and the helmet
actually seems to have higher than average air flow, especially on top.
So go figure -- some helmets have liners that look like a colander but don't
flow air, and this one has a solid section of lining on top and feels cool.

Also, the ear pockets are nice and big and open right back to the shell
wall, which could make the Azuma R a good candidate for speaker installation.

The top vent is pretty straightforward; pull the tab back or push it
forward to open or close the top/brow vent. There are two channels along
the top and they give the appearance of working with the rear exhaust vent,
but my close inspection with the fantastic
Gordon
$4.99 LED flashlight (review) tells me that the rear plastic spoiler
is just for show -- I don't see any evidence of actual vent holes back there.
Nevertheless, the system seems to work.

The chin vent is a simple back-and-forth slide switch that opens or closes
a "reverse" vent on the chin bar. And get this: the inside of
the chin bar has not one, but two vents, directing air on to the rider's
face! Most chin bars have zero air flow directly through, so this
is another surprise.

There are sliding doors on either side of the chin bar that allow air
into the sides of the helmet and, theoretically, through a vent located
between the cheek pads and the rest of the liner, near the lower jaw. It's
hard to tell if these actually do anything, but the Azuma R seems to flow
a decent amount of air, so who knows?

The vents are relatively easy to find but could be better. Overall, I'll
have to rate the liner as a borderline very good and I'll give the venting
a very good.

The Azuma R surprises yet again with its relatively low noise levels.
There's a slight whistling from the top vent when riding upright if the
vent is open. The noise disappears if the vent is closed or if the rider
leans forward slightly.

Overall, the helmet is surprisingly quiet, helped, I think, by the tight
fit of the face shield to the eye port gasket.

Our Zox Azuma R in size XL weighs 1578 grams (3 lbs., 7-5/8 oz.). This
puts it in the bottom third of helmet weights when compared to the 66 helmets
we've reviewed so far. Good company indeed; it's neighbors are the
AGV Ti-Tech
Rossi (1582 for a size XXL) and the
Suomy
Extreme Spec-1R (XL at 1570).

The Azuma R loses a few points because although the helmet uses a D-ring,
Zox got stingy and did not use a snap to hold the loose end of the chin
strap. There's a little cheesy rubber band around the short side of the
strap that can be used to secure the longer loose end, but c'mon -- spend
the nickel and add a snap! I hate when they do stuff like this...

Conclusion

Overall, we're amazed at how much helmet you can buy for 89 bucks. Too
bad it's so hard to find the Zox brand; hopefully motorcyclists will catch
on and if Zox can keep up the good work, they should be golden. We'll report
back after -- if -- we get our Zox Hi Quest R flip-up.

That should give us a better indication as to whether or not our experience
is an aberration or normality for Zox.

Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published (details). Comments may be edited for
clarity prior to publication.

From "R.G.": "First of all let me congratulate
you for the great review you publish on the web. Reading your reviews on
the Zox helmet, I think you would be interested to say to your readers that
the helmet is also sold as a Nitro and as a Givi helmet.

I have a Nitro one, I like the build quality but I found it noisy."

From "D.": "I was looking for helmet reviews
on your website (my first port of call for reviews these days) and I saw
your review of the Azuma R. I was looking for a blue helmet to go with my
new Ninja 650R so I figured I could afford to risk $90 on a new helmet considering
your good review.

I eventually ordered a Medium (your sizing assessment was spot on too)
Matte Blue Strobe helmet from Competition Accessories for $59 plus shipping
and handling (Just over $70 total).

What a steal! I have a Suomy and a Roof Diversion but the Zox is already
my first choice, it is better vented than either of the other two (important
here in Phoenix, AZ!) and lighter. How can anybody sell a DOT fiberglass
(sorry about the spelling, I'm a Brit!) helmet for $60?

I'm going to buy another one before they run out of stock! Thanks
for the great and accurate review."

From "J.S.": "I would like to submit the
following information for you to chew on; The Zox and Nitro Helmet brands
seem to be made by the same Chinese manufacturing facility. I am a Canadian
who first saw Nitro in the U.K. and Zox being distributed by Motovan Canada,
Inc.

If you compare the N1200-vx with the Zox Azuma you will find several
similarities…face shield latching system, side chin vents, lining materials
and quality. I have bought both a
Nitro N1200-VX (review) and
an OGK FF-4 (review) on your
recommendations and have found your observations about both helmets to be
very accurate to my experiences… I am very pleased with both, they have
unique qualities that I really enjoy, ie; price, quality, weight and graphics/style…

I own other helmets, SHOEI and ARAI, finding that the they are both comfortable
well made lids, but, in my estimation Nitro, Zox, and OGK have the edge
on value, functionality, and edginess (great styling) ….

Editor's Reply: The
Bell Sprint (review)
also has some features that are very similar, including the "soap-like"
smell inside! We also received an email from a visitor who said a
Vega Helmets representative claimed that Vega helmets, Zox and Nitro are
made by the same manufacturer. If any one has more information on this,
please send it to us at the address above.